Digital technology for hospitals

Economic progress throughout Asia is both transforming communities and vastly improving infrastructures. But sometimes the pressures of increased urbanization, spiraling population demands and a lack of specialist medical experts can lead to societal problems that only digital technology could help to solve. Especially if that digital technology is designed to increase healthcare efficiency and cut costs.

In a country like China, the healthcare efficiency demands placed on individual doctors can be overwhelming, which is why Philips believes its digital technology has the ability to revolutionize the world of medicine and vastly improve hospital efficiency. Populations, especially in cities, are growing exponentially and more people are being diagnosed with health conditions such as asthma and heart disease, as well as many different types of cancers, including lung, breast and colon.

Thirty years ago, we didn't have nearly as many patients as we do now. Lung cancer has gone up, breast cancer has gone up, colon cancer has gone up."

Professor Wang Wu

Head of Radiology, Department China-Japan Friendship Hospital

The key is early diagnosis and, of course, not making mistakes, but sometimes medical professionals are hampered by the time they can spend with each patient. However, Philips Healthcare has developed digital X-ray imaging machines that can, in a matter of minutes or even seconds, provide medics with the information they need to diagnose and treat a patient effectively, efficiently and, most importantly, quickly.

Professor Wang Wu, the head of radiology at Beijing’s China-Japan Friendship Hospital has found his working life – and the health of his patients – transformed by the use of these Philips imaging machines: “The clearer the image is,” he says, “the clearer my diagnosis is.”